Dangerous Possession
by Serena530
Summary: Yuya begins to be attacked what seems like every other day not only because she's Kyo's weakness, but for another reason she had never considered. Will Kyo be able to handle his property becoming his most dangerous possession? And will Yuya be able to?
1. Heartache and Pain

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Samurai Deeper Kyo or any of his characters, and have no right to it except as a fan.**

**Author's Note****: Hi there. I'm a relatively new fan of SDK seeing as how I just started to really get into it earlier this year. I've watched all the anime episodes and I've read up to volume 29 of the manga since that is all that has been released in the US. I could go online and look up the rest, but I don't want to spoil it for myself. So with that being said the characters might be a little OOC since I'm still new to this anime/ manga, and this story will be taking place around the end of the anime. You'll know exactly when once you start reading. However, I am mostly basing this off the manga, because I liked it better and only a few things from the anime will be included such as, the color of Kyo's hair, the coloring of the clothing on ****his**** body, and some things that involved Muramasa. Further more, Migeira will not exist in my story just as he did not exist in the manga.**

**My inspiration for this story comes not only from SDK, but also from a few fictions that I have had the great joy of reading on here… **_**Midori No Me**_** By: Vegita-dias, **_**Third Desire & Serpent's Curse**_** By: FenixPhoenix, and **_**When Teasing Doesn't Work**_** By: Alyson Metallium.**

* * *

**Dangerous Possession**

_Chapter One: Heartache and Pain_

Yuya stepped out of the doorway of the Cherry Blossom Inn and began walking down the main road that led in and out of the village. It had been three days since their group had left the land of the Mibu. Three days since Kyo got his body back, and three days since he had fought and killed Kyoshiro. She walked down the road leading to the end of the village, that was nothing but a gathering of businesses serving as inns, having gotten away from the others to be alone with her thoughts. She hadn't moved away from the main entrance to the inn after they had arrived. She just waited for everyone to begin walking down the hall and took her chance to slip away when she thought no one would notice. Of course somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that at least Kyo had noticed, but she was denying it to herself so that she could concentrate on her thoughts.

As she walked she remembered the fight scene she had come across in her search for the two men. She remembered the snow, how soft it felt as it landed on her skin, but how squishy it felt and sounded under her sandaled foot. She remembered briefly wondering why it had been snowing since it hadn't looked like it would the day before. She also remembered thinking that Akira must be enjoying it. That had been the extent of her thoughts before she heard the clash of metal against metal. She remembered running hard, pushing herself to go as fast as the snow would allow. Then her foot was caught in a particularly squishy patch of snow and she fell with the sound of one last clashing of metal against metal, and then the sound of an explosion that shock the ground.

She looked up in time to see a large cloud of smoke hanging above the ground in the distance ahead of her. Then she saw two silhouettes in the smoke, and her heart skipped a beat when one crumpled to the ground. She remembered calling out Kyo's name and Kyoshiro's name in the space of a heartbeat because she couldn't tell who had lost and who had survived. She picked herself up and ran straight for the man who was still standing. She still had no idea who he was but she didn't want to find out by looking at the man who lay motionless on the ground.

Yuya slammed into him wrapping her arms around him and clutching the clothing on his back. He stood firm, not even taking a step back as she slammed into him. She took a deep breath through her nose, and knew immediately, from his scent, who she had her arms wrapped around. She opened her eyes and slowly looked up, wanting to make sure her sense of smell was not deceiving her. She found rich bright blood red eyes looking down at her through strands of blood red hair with his lips set in that maddening smirk with a bit of fang peeking through, and at that moment she completely broke down.

"Oh my god. Kyo!" She said through the tears that had begun to streak down her face as she clung to him. In that moment she hadn't cared that he would see her crying, that he might think of her as being weak. She couldn't help expressing how sad she was that Kyoshiro had died, but at the same time express her happiness that Kyo had lived. After all, she had known Kyo longer then Kyoshiro. Sure she had met Kyoshiro first, but after Kyo gained control of his body he had been with her day after day, so of course she had spent more time with him and gotten to know him.

After passing the edge of the village Yuya continued on the road as it lead into the woods, veering off the main road after she had gone a little way in. She walked until she found a meadow with short green grass surrounded by tall trees, and then stretched out on her back to gaze at the soft blue sky.

She lay there remembering what she thought and felt when she first saw Kyo back in his own body. At the time she was already half in love with him, not that she had ever showed him that, but seeing him in his body only made her love for him complete. She had seen his body before - those intense red eyes, the long red hair, the tattered haori and hakama, and his red armor. Granted his body had been sealed in ice, but still…to hear his voice and see his personality coming from it was breath taking. He was beautiful in a purely masculine way that made him look so intense – so attractive that she had had a hard time keeping her eyes off him.

Yuya sighed as she closed her eyes and began to wonder what would happen now. Was she going to stay with the group? Stay with Kyo? He had to at least know that she liked him, and she was sure that he liked her a little. With Kyo it was hard to tell, but he had kept her alive – saved her life a number of times when he didn't have to, so he had to feel something for her. Would that be enough for him not to mind her sticking around?

Just when she was about to try and think up an answer to that question, she felt a prickly sensation sweep her body. Sensing that she was being watched Yuya opened her eyes and sat up, taking in a sharp breath in the process. She automatically reached for her gun, but stopped when she didn't feel its weight. She had forgotten it, which was unusual; she always had her gun. She hadn't even brought the dagger Muramasa had given her. She realized then that she must have been seriously lost in thought these past days to forget her defense weapons. She didn't even remember removing them from her person. She looked around and saw Kyo leaning against a tree in front but across from her with his red eyes trained on her. She noticed immediately that he had changed into a deep black kimono similar to the one he wore when he inhabited Kyoshiro's body, only this time he looked even better with his red eyes and hair clashing beautifully against the black material. She sighed at his sudden appearance and presence and lay back down.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings woman." Kyo said, his voice only loud enough to reach her.

Yuya frowned at that statement. "I realized you were there didn't I?" She said as she closed her eyes.

"I was here long enough to have killed you five times over." He whispered in her right ear, having used his incredible speed to get to her in the few moments after she had closed her eyes.

Yuya gasped as she felt Kyo's breath on her ear with his whispered words, and her eyes flew open to see him kneeling next to her with a smirk on his face. His red hair tussled by the slight breeze and his red eyes focused on her green ones. "That's because you are you." She whispered back, her heart crashing in her chest at his close proximity.

The last time he had been this close to her was before he had his body back, and before Shinrei's water worms had been removed. She hoped that he couldn't hear her heart beating wildly out of control, and hoped that the folds of her yellow and orange-stripped yukata were enough to hide it from his view. She had a feeling that, had she been wearing her sleeping yukata, he would have been able to see it beating.

Kyo's smirk widened and he leaned in to whisper in her ear again, having thoroughly enjoyed the expression on her face the first time, when he heard a twig snap. His smirk slipped away as his narrow gaze flashed to the trees behind Yuya. He reached out with his mind to locate the chi of the person headed their way. He sensed it right away; it was nowhere near as powerful as his own- less powerful then even the woman's chi, but he was curious to see whom it belonged to.

Yuya watched Kyo carefully as he looked off into the trees behind her. She wasn't afraid because Kyo was with her, and he didn't look worried or cautious. Even so, she still wanted to know what he had heard or saw.

"Kyo? What…" She started to ask.

Kyo looked down at Yuya when he heard her voice and interrupted her before she could finish. "Pretend to be asleep. Don't move no matter what." He said, and then got to his feet and walked past the tree he had been leaning against and disappeared into the surrounding trees.

**.:XxXxX:.**

Yuya watched Kyo walk off into the trees, and then closed her eyes. She did her best to breath normally and deeply as if she were really asleep. _What is Kyo thinking having me do this? Is this going to … _ She trailed off as she heard footsteps. For a moment she thought that Kyo had come back, but then almost at the same time she realized that she wouldn't have heard him come back. _Yeah Yuya. If he really wanted you to know he would have found another way instead of making his footsteps heavier_. She thought as she strained her ears to catch every sound.

_A stranger, and the footsteps are getting closer. They sound way too heavy to be a woman, so it must be a man. Maybe this man will be skittish, ignore me, and go on about his business._ She thought hopefully as she struggled to breath normally. _No need to panic. Kyo is near by. He wouldn't leave me helpless like this after telling me to pretend to be asleep. Right?_ She thought, and just as she was about to answer that thought the man spoke.

"Hmm…what's this? A woman asleep in the open?" He said to himself, and then paused. "A young woman; even better." The man said in a rough but quiet voice.

Yuya didn't like the sound of what she had heard so far, but she remained calm knowing that Kyo was near.

"She's really nice looking." She heard the man say, then she felt him get close to her head and she heard a sniffling sound. "Smells nice too, but is she really asleep?" He finished and there was a long silence.

She wondered what he was doing as she struggled to keep her emotions off her face. _He's being quiet, but I can sense him getting closer. What is he… _ her thought was cut off by the feel of something wet on her face, and a foul stench that made her want to gag. Then she realized that he was licking her and that the stench was his breath. It took every ounce of self-control she had not to react and pretend to be asleep, as Kyo had wanted.

"I guess she really is asleep." The foul breath man said from a slight distance. She guessed he had stood back up, which was fine with her. She didn't know how long she could control her gag reflex. "Well that's no fun. Time to wake up." He said a little louder and Yuya felt a sharp agonizing pain on her upper left side.

Yuya cried out in pain, no longer attempting to feign sleep, as she clutched her side feeling as if she had some broken ribs. She was in pain but she did notice Kyo's chi flare angrily as she screamed when the man kicked her. That was good right? That meant he would come for her.

She rolled on her side, attempting to lessen the pain by staying off her left side. She then felt herself being flung back on her back and a weight on top of her.

"Get off me." She demanded, using the pain she was feeling to make her voice stronger.

"Why would I do that? I woke you up so we could have some fun. You were clearly lonely out here all by yourself." He said as he grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms over her head.

"Get off you foul mouth excuse of a man." She screamed, the pain she felt from him pulling her arm up like that and stretching her aching side made her scream sound stronger.

"Is that any way to speak to the man who's going to give you the best pleasure you've ever had in your life?" He said and Yuya froze ad began to panic.

This man was going to rape her. She was still a virgin; he was going to take away her innocence. The only thing she had to give. She hadn't thought about giving it to anyone until recently. Until she realized how much she liked Kyo. It was really all because of Kyo that she thought of it at all. How could she not with her developing feelings for him, and him always grabbing her breasts and feeling on her almost all the time? She always reacted by pulling her gun on him, but she couldn't help what she felt. And she didn't just mean his hands.

Every time he touched her that way she had an aching feeling in her stomach. Her body was reacting and wanting more, this she knew or rather came to understand. Of course she couldn't forget the heat that she always felt when he touched her at all. It felt like warm water touching her bare skin, but Kyo hadn't touched her that way since before they set out for the land of the Mibu. At that time he was still in Kyoshiro's body, but now he was back in his own body and she wondered what his touch would feel like now.

Point being – she had been considering giving her innocence to Kyo and she couldn't let this shit breath excuse of a man take it from her.

"Get off, get off, get off!" She shouted as she struggled, trying to ignore the pain in her side, to protect her virtue.

The man ignored her.

"You heard the woman." Came a deep, low voice.

Yuya froze along with her attacker and looked toward the voice. "Kyo." She breathed so softly that she didn't think she would be heard, but Kyo's red eyes shifted from her attacker to her face – to her eyes for a moment and then back to her attacker.

* * *

_She looks okay from here. I don't smell any blood. That's good. He didn't use enough force to break the skin, but he probably used enough to bruise or break a rib or two_. He thought as he starred at the man.

When he first sensed the man's chi he had a fleeting idea shoot through his mind, but he ignored it. He ignored it but not enough not to tell the woman to pretend to be asleep. Then when he first saw the man he decided to put that fleeting idea in motion. He wanted to see if the woman would call out his name for help if she needed it or if she would be stubborn and try to deal with the man on her own if that was the case. He told himself that it didn't matter if she did call for him or not, but unconsciously, deep down, he really hoped that she would call out for him to help her. He knew that she would be in danger if the idiot didn't leave her alone, but he was not prepared for an assault the like of which he had just seen.

Kyo was a blood thirsty demon who enjoyed a good challenging fight and even more so if it led to a kill, but he was not cold hearted enough to kick a sleeping, defenseless woman. That act had enraged him so much that for a few moments he couldn't control his chi. Luckily the idiot didn't sense him or didn't know how to.

_That's good. He won't know of my murderous rage until it's too late_. He thought maliciously as his eyes glowed slightly.

He usually liked to let people think he was no real threat. That's why he kept most of his chi hidden, although, that only worked with those who weren't true fighters. Those who were could sense he was different no matter how much of his chi he hid, and the fact that he was widely known didn't help. Sometimes having red hair and eyes irritated him because it made him stand out more.

Then as if the kick hadn't enraged him enough, after he had moved from his position and gotten to the meadow he found the idiot trying to rape his woman. _My woman?! Is that really what I want?_ He asked himself. _Yes. Yes it is_. He thought after a moment. He had been denying it for so long, keeping his attraction for her ruthlessly in check, because he didn't want to claim her in that bastard's body. Now that he had his own body back she was as good as his.

"Oh. Who's this? A stranger come to the rescue?" He heard the idiot say from his position over the woman. He clearly had not heard the woman breath his name, although he was right there with his ear in her face.

Kyo, however, had heard the breath that was his name, and although it wasn't the pleading sound he had, deep down, wanted to hear, it was more then enough. That breath that was his name shook him to his core, and he was, although he'd never admit it, afraid and nervous. It had, in that brief moment, brought up more questions then he had ever considered concerning the woman before.

He had much to think about, but not right now. First – the idiot.

"Beat it; I was here first." He heard the idiot say.

This fueled his anger and irritated him at the same time.

"You've got ten seconds to do as the woman demanded." Kyo said quietly.

The man looked at him for a moment then, as he was meant to, decided that Kyo wasn't a threat and went back to what he was doing.

The idiot shifted and the woman gasped as if she was in too much pain to scream, and Kyo cut the ten seconds in half and drew Tenro as he moved forward. A moment later Kyo sheathed his sword and the man lay dead next to the woman having nearly been decapitated from the back of his neck. He then slipped his sword into his belt, and slipped his arms under the right side of the woman, picking her up, and cradled her against his body as he walked swiftly through the forest. He walked back into the village and to the inn they were staying at without a word.

**.:XxXxX:.**

Yuya listened to Kyo and the foul-mouthed man exchange words. She was glad to see Kyo and wished he would have looked at her longer, even if just a little, but she wanted the man off her and Kyo was trying to make that happen. The man then shifted in what seemed like an attempt to make himself more comfortable, but it stretched her side and it hurt so much that she could only gasp at the pain.

Next thing she knew the man was dead next to her and Kyo was picking her up, and in such a way that it didn't hurt. She couldn't believe that he was holding her like that. The last time he held her like that was inside the Mibu lands when they had been separated from Bon and Akira. She hadn't been able to walk then, although she complained that she could, and was secretly happy that he hadn't put her down. Now she felt like saying that she could walk just so he wouldn't think that she was a weak woman, but she knew that she couldn't. That the pain was too much, so she closed her eyes and kept her mouth shut.

Even though she didn't want to appear weak she couldn't help but notice that the pain was less with him holding her. She could feel the warmth of his chest, arms, and hands. It was a different warmth from when he would touch her inappropriately. This warmth was only a result of his body heat. She leaned her head against his chest and breathed deeply. He smelled strongly of Aokigahara forest and blood. She didn't use to like the smell of blood on him, and still didn't, but it was apart of him and she wouldn't change it for anything. His bloody forest scent was soothing to her, and it helped ease her pain.

Yuya was so busy breathing in his scent that she didn't realize they were inside the inn until he placed her on a futon in a sitting position. Even then she hadn't been paying attention to what he was doing until she felt her obi go slack. She gasped and her eyes flew open. She gasped again when he gently pushed her back until she was lying down.

She clutched her yukata together and looked up to Kyo with a frown. "What are you doing?" She asked as he pulled her obi away.

"I'm going to look at your wound. What did you think I was going to do?" He asked with his eyes trained on hers.

Yuya fought back a blush as she answered his question with a question. "Why do you need to see it?" She asked.

"I want to make sure you don't have an open wound. I don't smell any blood, but still." He said, wondering why he was bothering to explain himself to her.

"I'm sure it's nothing. A broken bone, a bruise at the least." She said, hoping to stall him.

Kyo looked at her face then his eyes moved along to her clutched hands. _She doesn't want me to see her._ He thought with a smirk forming on his face. "It's nothing I haven't seen before; or felt for that matter." He said, his red eyes waiting to see the expression on her face.

Yuya blushed deeply. She knew all of this, but it was different. All those times he had seen or felt her up was because he came out of nowhere and did it, but now…now it would be a voluntary thing. She would have to lay here and let herself be seen by him. She looked at his face, into those eyes that looked back at her so intently and sighed. _I trust Kyo._ She thought as she closed her eyes and moved her arms to the sides out of his way.

Kyo watched as she moved her hands away and her arms to her sides and closed her eyes. He thought it would take more then what he said to get her to cooperate, and he wondered what she had thought as he pulled the left side of her yukata away from her. He watched as he slowly revealed her breast and stomach. He was a man, so of course he wasn't going to deny himself the view, but he didn't look long. It was more of a quick peek, but he enjoyed the view immensely as he took in every detail. He then moved his eyes to her side and they narrowed at what he saw. What he saw was a large bright red circle with a deep shade of red in the middle that he knew would soon turn purple.

His eyes shifted to her face, which was a bright red, and he smirked. His smirked faded just as quickly as it had come with the thought that he was about to hurt her, and that made him pause. He had never cared about hurting someone before, but it was different with her. _I'll have to think about that later_. He thought as he shifted his eyes back to her side. He needed to feel the wound to see if there were any broken bones, so he proceeded to press on the area lightly at first then slowly added pressure. He watched as her calm blushing face developed a pained grimace, and then she took in a quick breath but didn't make any other sound to voice her pain and he smiled at that. His woman wasn't weak. She was resilient.

He determined that there were no broken bones, and that it was just a deep bruise to two or three of her ribs. He then pulled her yukata back over her, after one last look at her exposed breast, and sat back. "It's a bad bruise to a couple of your ribs; nothing more." He said as he watched her.

"That's good. It could be worse." She said without opening her eyes. She was still too busy concentrating on breathing. It may have been just a bruise, but it still hurt like hell.

After a few silent moments she opened her eyes and began to look around the room, stalling before she had to look at Kyo. She saw that it was a nice big room with a sliding wooden door, which had small square window spaces at the top, at the back of the room leading somewhere.

"Whose room is this?" She asked as her eyes continued to look around.

Kyo watched Yuya and when she asked whose room it was he realized that she couldn't see her weapons and the medicine box from the angle she was laying at. He moved back to her side and leaned over her slightly and put his left hand on the right side of her neck to get her attention. "Mine." He said, rubbing her neck softly. Of course the room was his, but she always slept where he did. The only time she didn't was when they stayed at Muramasa's house. He didn't sleep much then, and felt that with the burden of water worms slowly claiming her life, she deserved some alone time during the night.

Yuya had no doubt that she would be sleeping there too. She always slept where Kyo slept. Right now though she was having a hard time breathing. The longer his hand stayed on her neck- on her skin the quicker her breaths came, and the more pain she felt because of it. But even so, she felt the heat coming from his hand acutely and she was stuck – locked in his eyes. She noticed that the longer she gazed into his eyes the warmer his hand got until it felt like a hot cloth had been pressed to her skin and held there with the cloth remaining hot the entire time.

Then her heart beat picked up pace when he began to lean toward her face. She felt his hand slide down her neck to her shoulder, and when she felt the heat of his breath on her lips…everything went dark.

* * *

Kyo took a deep breath then moved his hand from the pressure point on her shoulder to the floor next to her. He then bent his head to her neck and breathed deeply. She had such a clean fresh scent that he had become addicted to. He could smell blood everywhere he went and knew that it was a part of his scent as well, but she was clean, pure and untainted like a breath of fresh air. Breathing her scent always made him calm and at peace; something only Muramasa had been able to do.

He then sat up and gazed at her, wishing he had went ahead and kissed her, but he knew that she needed to sleep – to escape the pain for a while. Now that he had his body back he could claim that kiss anytime he wanted.

He laid a blanket on top of her, since she would be asleep for hours, and left the room. He made his way to the medium sized common room that their group had rented, along with their rooms, and found everyone except Bontenmaru, Yukimura, and Benitora there. He went and sat down with his back against the wall to the right of the sliding door that he had used to enter the room, and leaned his sword against his left shoulder.

"Kyo!" He heard Akari call, and next thing he knew she was gripping his right arm. "Where have you been?" She asked in a slightly whinny voice.

"Hey Demon Eyes? What happened to Yuya?" Saskua asked near the sliding door at the back of the room, across from the main door. "I saw you carry her in a few minutes ago." He finished.

Kyo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. "Some idiot kicked her hard enough to bruise her ribs. She's asleep right now." He said. He didn't say anymore; they didn't need to know that the idiot tried to rape her.

"I'm sure she'll be okay." He heard Okuni say calmly on his left side. Unlike Akari she wasn't the clingy type, but she would stay close to him.

"You killed the guy right?" Akira said quietly, calmly as if that was what everyone did when someone assaulted someone else.

Kyo didn't answer but Akira seemed to hear confirmation in his silence none-the-less.

After that everyone continued the conversations they were having before Saskua mentioned Yuya. He guessed that Bon, Yukimura, and Tora were either getting sake or were at a brothel. _Most likely both_. He thought as he listened to Akira talk about some nonsense that he wasn't interested in. A few moments later he tuned her out to do some thinking about the sleeping woman in his room. He let his mind drift back to earlier when he heard her breath his name.

_Why did I react the way I did? Why did so many questions come to me in that moment? Why do I even care?_ He thought with a mental sigh. Yeah she was nice looking. He couldn't get enough of those green eyes, especially when she was mad at him, and that light golden hair of hers – so silky and soft against his rough callused fingers. She had an okay figure. He always complained about the size her breasts, but he liked the way they felt in his hands. She had a nice size bottom as well, and curves that he would love to let his fingers glide over.

_Can't forget about how nice she feels when I hold her in my arms. She's so light but not so light to say she doesn't eat enough_. He thought as he remembered her soft body in his arms earlier. He loved her personality. He couldn't stand the fact that she was always being loud and yelling at him, but even so he found it refreshing. No one, let alone a woman, would ever dare to speak to him in that tone. He also liked that she wasn't afraid to tell him what she thought of him, and he loved her violent side. She was forever pulling her gun on him and shooting him.

_She is a bounty hunter after all. I wonder if she'll go back to doing that now that we're done with the Mibu. I might even help her_. He thought as he wondered what else it was that he liked about her. _I like that she's stuck with me throughout everything that's happened. Most women would have thought it was too dangerous, and rightly so, but even after the whole water worm deal she still stayed. She did have other reasons but she didn't have to stay._ He thought with another mental sigh.

What he liked, no loved, was the fact that she trusted him. Trusted him with her life and perhaps maybe…her heart. He knew that he liked her, he could deny it to everyone else but not himself, and that she liked him. He saw her starring at him enough to know that, but he wanted to know just how much she liked him. He even found himself wondering if he should tell her how he felt about her, but dismissed it just as quickly. That was not who he was. He would not go spouting what he thought of her. She would just have to watch him and pay attention to the things he did, and the things he _did_ say to find out.

Of course that probably meant that she wouldn't be saying how she felt anytime soon. She would probably worry about embarrassing herself if she thought he didn't feel anything for her. _She's probably denying it to herself. Wouldn't that be something? Spirited Yuya can't admit that she likes a demon_. He thought with a mental smirk.

_I guess that's why I reacted the way I did out in the forest. It's because I like her; I like her a lot, and I seriously want her. I wonder what it's going to be like when I claim her_. He thought as he pictured her round breast from when he was checking her wound earlier. He, of course, had no doubt that he would be claiming her as his; it was just a matter of when not if. He had always noticed how soft her skin was, and was sure that it would feel even softer when she was consenting to his touch.

Kyo being Kyo, he was very much aware of the effect he had on her every time he touched or even came close to her. _Like how she reacted before I put her to sleep. Her heart was pounding so hard and her breathing was so quick that I wondered if she was getting any air at all. I could tell that her reaction to my proximity was causing her pain though, which is another reason why I put her to sleep. Otherwise I would have claimed the kiss she seemed to want to as much as I did._ He thought with yet another mental sigh. _Her reaction though…no woman has ever reacted to me that way. Yes they have been excited and aroused and were anticipating what I was going to do to them, but I never got a reaction quite like the one from her. Is that what it's like when the woman has actual feelings for you, and is this what it's like when you actually care that the woman feels anything for you?_ He thought as he took a few moments to concentrate on what Akari was blabbing about.

She was still hanging on his arm and leaning into him, and Okuni was still on his other side being quiet with her eyes drilling holes in his head. _Most likely trying to figure out what I'm thinking about._ He thought as he wished they would go away. The only woman he wanted near him at that moment was Yuya, although he'd never say it. Sometimes he wondered if either of them knew that he didn't have eyes for them.

Akari _had_ to know, but even he wasn't so sure about Okuni. He had a feeling that she was still holding out. He showed no interest in any woman, but he was sure that all the guys knew that he would torture and gut any who touched Yuya in an intimate way, even if they happened to brush against her in passing. He gave them no reason to know this, but they knew it all the same. He was sure of that.

Kyo then let his mind drift to what happened to Yuya at the meadow. _I cannot believe what almost happened to her. I've seen women raped before and I admit that I probably should have stopped it I just never cared. But for that idiot to try and force himself on her, try to take what is mine. No, he had to die and was damn lucky that I made it quick!_ He thought as his anger at the deceased man rose again. He usually killed the attacker and the one who had been attacked, so that she wouldn't have to become an outcast and be forced to live with the shame and ridicule of what happened. Not to mention thrown from their homes to find their own way in life. Luckily he had stopped that from being Yuya's fate.

He wasn't just angry with the idiot for attacking her. He was angry with himself for putting her in that position. If it hadn't been for that stupid idea that popped into his head she wouldn't be hurt. _I wonder how she's doing. She shouldn't be feeling any pain while she sleeps, but still…I wish she wasn't hurt at all_. He thought with another mental sigh. He usually didn't care if someone was in pain, but with Yuya he found that it was different. He didn't like causing her pain. In fact he didn't like when she was in pain at all, and in order to keep her from being in pain he would have to keep her with him.

He wanted her with him, to stay with him – to be with him. Not just because he wanted to protect her but because she was his opposite. She balanced him out; kept him from showing his true demon nature, and that alone was a good enough reason why he wanted to keep her. He _would_ keep her. The world couldn't handle his true nature, and besides all that she had a promise to keep, a promise that she made to Muramasa before he died. A promise he would make sure she would keep.

* * *

Yuya woke up and saw that it was getting dark out. She was disoriented since she didn't remember falling asleep. She thought about the last thing she _did_ remember. How she had asked Kyo a question, and how he had answered. The feel of his warm hand on her neck, the warmth of his breath on her lips, and then nothing.

_Ugh! He must have put me to sleep somehow, because I am in too much pain to have fallen asleep on my own_. She thought as she sat up, wincing at the pain. _Why did he do it? Why put me to sleep? I wasn't even sleepy or tired for that matter._ She thought as she tied her obi. She then got to her feet and scanned the room to make sure she was really alone. All she found was her things and what little Kyo had.

She then left the room and began to explore the inn, making sure she remembered where her and Kyo's room was. She walked to one end of the hall, to her right, and found the women's bathing room, and then she began to walk to the other end. As she walked she heard familiar voices coming from a room that was two doors away from the one she shared with Kyo, and guessed that it was the room everyone gathered in.

After walking around a little more she went back to her room, gathered her sleeping yukata, and went to the bathing room. She then undressed, slipped into the heated water, thankful to be alone in the room, and began to think about what happened earlier in the day.

_I cannot believe that foul-mouthed man! I mean he had no morals at all. Did he grow up in the wild or something?_ She thought with a tired sigh. _I'm glad Kyo was there otherwise I'm sure that man would have raped me. I wish I could say that that wouldn't have happened, but I know it would have. No matter how hard I struggled he was just too strong. Of course I wouldn't have been in that situation if Kyo hadn't told me to pretend to be asleep._ She thought with a sigh as she sank a little lower into the water. _What the hell was he thinking anyway?! Okay I know that he didn't know that would happen, so I can't be too mad at him. He did take care of me after all_. She thought as she remembered how gentle he had been when he carried her back to the inn and checked her wound.

_I can't believe I let him see me half naked. I mean did he _really_ need to see the wound to know what was wrong?_ She thought then sighed. _He didn't try to touch me. I mean besides touching my wound. I'm sure he made sure that he had a good look though. Maybe that's why he was going to kiss me. Maybe…_ she stopped her thought there, not wanting to think about her feelings on that or what Kyo had been thinking. She refused to go back to what she had been thinking about before the foul breath man came along. She just wasn't ready to go back to it yet, so she relaxed and thought about anything but that while she cleansed herself. She winced every time she moved a certain way or touched her bruised ribs, so she tried to stay still and let the water sooth her.

When Yuya was done she went back to her room and noticed that the room was still without Kyo, and she wondered briefly if he even knew that she had woken and left the room_. If he did know did he care?_ She wondered sadly as she placed her yukata next to her dagger and gun. She then moved to the futon and carefully stretched out on it, and forced herself to keep her mind blank as she tried to relax enough to fall asleep. She found that she was having trouble keeping her mind blank, so she focused on the feel of the blanket on top of her, the pattern of the floor and walls, the slight light coming in the room, and the sounds she heard until she fell asleep.

**.:XxXxX:.**

Yuya woke up the next morning to find no Kyo in sight. She wondered if he had even come back to the room to sleep, and the fact that she didn't know made her sad and slightly depressed. As she got up she knew that she had to resume her thinking from earlier the previous day. She dressed carefully in a forest green yukata with a light wooden color obi, not wanting to aggravate her bruised ribs and cause herself any more pain then she was already feeling. She then grabbed her dagger and slipped it into her obi, knowing that her gun weighed more and would aggravate her wound.

As she was straightening the futon she heard a knock on the wooden door and a voice call her name. She recognized it as belonging to Akari and called her in.

"Good morning Yuya. I've come to collect you for breakfast." Akari said in a chipper voice.

Yuya smiled and followed her out of the room and down the hall to the room where she had noticed everyone's voices the night before and found everyone there talking and eating. She noticed where Kyo was first even though she hadn't been trying to find him. He was sitting against the wall to the left of the door with his sword and of course Okuni next to him. She had to force herself to look away. She was a bit jealous of Okuni because she had the kind of body that Kyo seemed to like. There was no way she could forget since he was forever telling her that her chest wasn't big enough.

She also noticed that he wasn't eating and wondered briefly how he sustained himself since she had never seen him eat in all the time she had known him. _He can't possibly live off sake, although he probably would if he could._ She thought as she looked around, and saw that Yukimura and Saskua were sitting against the wall to the right of the door and that they were eating. Hotaru and Akira sat with their backs to her eating, while Bon and Benitora sat across from them facing the door also eating.

She walked in greeting everyone with a quiet 'good morning' and a false smile on her face that she hoped everyone fell for, and answered their questions about her health and if she was in too much pain. Akira kindly handed her a bowl of food, after she was done answering, and she went to sit by the sliding wooden door behind Bon and Benitora, that lead to a small garden that all the rooms seemed to have access to. As she sat down she noticed that Akari went to sit on the other side of Kyo only much closer then Okuni.

As Yuya began to eat she reminded herself of what she had been thinking about the day before. _That's right. I was thinking about whether or not I would be able to stay with kyo. I like him I really do and I want to stay with him, but I don't want to stay if he doesn't want me around._ She thought as she finished her food. She then turned so that she was facing the garden, hoping no one would talk to her and interrupt her thoughts. _I wish I knew how Kyo felt about me. I mean he must like me. He almost kissed me yesterday, but that was probably just a movement to distract me while he put me to sleep._ She thought sadly as she leaned against the door frame.

_Well it worked. I was thoroughly distracted until everything went dark_. She thought with a quiet sigh, wishing that he had just went ahead and kissed her. _Okay so lets try this another way. Maybe he does like me, but not as much as I like him._ She thought as she repressed another sigh. She didn't want everyone thinking she was sad even if she really was. _They don't need to know_. She thought determinedly.

For a few moments she stopped thinking and just starred at the grass and flowers in front of her, and took in the fresh air. Then she suddenly felt someone looking at her and she turned her head to find Saskua sitting in the doorway next to her. They starred at each other for a long time. Green eyes locked with yellow-gold, both looking for something. She had no idea what he was looking for, but she knew that she wanted to see if he could tell that she was sad, bordering on depressed. She couldn't tell so she looked away, back to the grass.

"Are you okay nee-chan?" He asked, still keeping his eyes on her.

"Yes. Why?" She asked looking back to him.

"It's just that you've been really quiet and the only time you spoke was to say good morning." He said.

"I'm just doing some thinking, that's why I've been quiet." She said softly.

"Okay." She heard him say but noticed that he didn't move away, and that he was still looking at her. _That's okay. Just because he's looking at me doesn't mean I have to stop thinking._ She thought as she looked up at the sky. _Would the guys be sad if I left? Would Okuni or Akari? They all were concerned and worried when I had Shinrei's water worms in me, but this time nothing is wrong with me and no one is using me to get to Kyo. Saskua seems genuinely concerned. He might miss me if I were to leave_. She thought then sighed quietly_. It's not like they need me around for my special talents. What good am I to the group? My original reasons for sticking around don't apply now. I'm not hunting down my brother's killer and I'm not looking for information about the Mibu. My only excuse now would be to be with Kyo, but that's not a good enough reason. At least I don't think it would be to any of them_. She thought as she closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to hold back her pain both physical and emotional.

She then opened her eyes, stood and walked to the door, avoiding all eye contact with everyone in the room_. I think Saskua is the only one who noticed me leaving. Okay well I'm sure Kyo noticed too, but he doesn't count because he would just ignore me. If the others did notice then they're too busy chatting with each other to say anything. Or maybe they think I'm going to the bathroom._ She thought as she slipped her sandals on, opened the door and slid it closed behind her.

_I need some time alone. Apparently it is a bit difficult to think when someone is starring at you_. She thought as she exited the inn and headed toward one end of the busy village – the opposite end she went to the day before. She walked past the village boundaries and into the woods on the path, and then she turned to the right heading off the path, and walked into the trees until she found a tall, thick one with big branches at the top.

Yuya removed her sandals and slipped them over her hands and around her wrists, then took a few steps back as she looked up the tree, preparing herself for what was to come. It was a tall tree but not so tall that she couldn't get to the top. She knew that it was going to hurt, but she didn't want to stay out in the open and chance getting attacked by some pervert again. She just hoped that her kodachi stayed put during the trip up.

She took a deep breath and with a slight running start she jumped up the tree, placing one foot on the bark, pushing herself up until her hands could reach the branches. She grabbed a hold and climbed into a sitting position, leaning back against a thick branch as she adjusted her kodachi, and sat with her knees bent up to her chest with her feet on the rough wood. She then placed her sandals under her legs, so they didn't fall to the ground, and sat there for a while breathing in and out through her mouth to try and slow the pain in her side. She leaned her head back against the branch and placed her right hand over her bruised ribs hoping the slight pressure would help ease her pain.

After a few minutes Yuya was able to take in the view and realized that she was happy with her position in the tree and was great full that she didn't need to move. She knew that no one would bother her way up there because they wouldn't be able to see her unless they were looking, so she was free to get back to her thinking.

_I wonder if Kyo would miss me if I left the group. Would he be sad? Would he show any emotion? Would there be any kind of reaction from him at all?_ She thought with a sigh. _I wonder if he even cared that I just left like that. I know that he noticed since he never misses anything, but does he care where I went or that I haven't come back yet? Would he come looking for me if I don't come back soon?_ She thought as she starred blankly into the distance waiting for an answer to come to her. It came in the form of an idea.

_I know what I'll do! I'll stay right here in this tree and wait and see if Kyo will come for me. Hmm…I'll decide later how long I'll stay up here_. She thought and in that moment she realized that she was really in love with him. That she loved him enough to actually do something as stupid as what she was doing just to see if he cared enough about her.

She also realized that she loved him so much that she wasn't sure that she would be able to stay with him if he didn't feel the same, and that made her cry silent tears of agony as she waited and hoped that Kyo would show up.

* * *

Meanwhile Saskua found himself following Yuya at a distance. He watched her ascent up the tree keeping his eyes on her every movement making sure that she didn't come to harm. He had known something was bothering her the moment she had walked into the room back at the inn. When she looked around at everyone to see if they were all there she looked as if she had been deciding something and he didn't like it. He knew that when Yuya was quiet it usually meant something was bothering her, and when she was worried she was loud. He had believed her excuse back in the room to an extent, but now that he was seeing her alone away from everyone he could tell that what ever she had been and still was thinking about was making her sad.

Just then Saskua noticed sparkly light on her face and realized that she was crying. _She must be even sadder then I first thought._ He thought with a slight shake of his head. _I wonder if Demon Eyes knows about this – about how sad she is._ He thought as he narrowed his catlike eyes. Kyo hadn't even blinked when she left the room, but he knew that Kyo must have noticed. There was no way he couldn't have _not_ noticed, and if he really thought about it he knew that Kyo was most likely more aware of her every movement then any of them.

Saskua sighed quietly and pulled out his toy with the red ball just as Yukimura appeared at his side.

"What are you doing out here Saskua? What are you looking at so intensely?" Yukimura asked after he had stood there for a few moments taking in the little ninja's reaction.

"I'm keeping an eye on nee-chan. Can't you see her? She looks so sad." Saskua said.

"Where is she?" Yukimura asked as he scanned the path ahead of them with both his eyes and his senses. Saskua pointed up to the top of the trees, and Yukimura was thoroughly surprised as he gazed at the small girl that was sitting in the tree, blending in with the greenery with her yukata. "Ouch! Her ribs must be aching. I didn't know Yuya-chan could climb trees. How did she get all the way up there?" He asked.

"She sort of jumped and then climbed the rest of the way. She was pretty quick about it. She didn't have to struggle or anything, which was kind of shocking because of her injury." Saskua answered. "I think something is wrong with her. She looks so sad; do you think Demon Eyes knows where she is right now?" He asked.

"Hmmm…I did find her quiet behavior strange, and I do admit that I was a little concerned." Yukimura said with a thoughtful look on his face as he listened to the little ninja play with his toy. "I'll go see if Kyo knows what's going on with Yuya-chan. I want you to keep an eye on her no matter what, and I'll be back later to see if there is any change with her." He said. _Knowing Kyo he wouldn't go straight to her once he knows where she is. He'd wait a while and go when he was ready_. He thought as he walked off, glad that he had Saskua to watch out for their favorite girl.

* * *

Yuya cried a long time after her painful realization. She didn't want to leave Kyo or the group, but she knew that it would be pure torture to stay and be around him if he didn't care for her.

She decided that she would give him until the next day to come for her. She would stay in that tree the entire day and brave the cold night air. She knew that she didn't need to worry about any strangers attacking or trying to kidnap her since she was high in the tree, hidden by branches and leaves.

_I don't want to go back and see the guys anyway. I don't want them to see me this way. All red faced with puffy swollen eyes from crying. No. They don't need to see my sad face. _ She thought as she wiped away a few stray tears.

**.:xXx:.**

Yuya spent the entire day and night crying off and on because Kyo hadn't shown up yet, and during the night she began thinking about what she would do when morning came and she was ready to leave the tree. She had to have a plan if he didn't show up, and it's not like she was going to be going to sleep anyway.

_I'll go back and walk right into the inn, grab my things and go. I won't say goodbye; that would be too painful since I've grown attached to all of them. Maybe I'll leave a note, but then I don't even know what to say. There's no way I can explain my reasoning. __**Sorry guys. I've decided to leave you all because I am madly in love with Kyo, and sticking around here is just too painful because he doesn't return my feelings**__._ She thought, and groaned at that. There was no way she would write that or something like that.

_Maybe I shouldn't write a note at all. I could just disappear. I'm sure they would get over it quicker then I would_. She thought with a sigh and a few more tears. _At least I won't have to worry about what I would do once I leave. I am a bounty hunter after all, but my skills might have faded from lack of use since Kyo never gave me much of a chance to use them. He probably wouldn't think of them as skills anyway_. She thought with another sigh as she shifted in her seat, trying to get a little comfortable, but only succeeding in aggravating her bruised ribs.

**.:XxXxX:.**

When morning came Yuya looked down from where she sat hoping Kyo would be standing there having used his speed or was just being his quiet self, but she had no such luck. He was nowhere in site. She sighed and closed her eyes and sat there, for what she thought was an hour, trying to hold back tears of sad disappointment. She hoped that her face wasn't red and that her eyes weren't swollen since it had been a while since she had last cried.

Once she was sure that she wouldn't cry she gathered her sandals around her wrists and jumped to the ground, landing in a crouch with her hands on the ground in front of her. She stayed in her crouch for a few moments breathing in deeply as she felt the pain from jostling her bruised ribs. She then pulled her sandals from around her wrists and slipped her feet into them, stood up stiffly- wincing at the pain in her side and from sitting in the tree for hours, and made her way back to the main path that led to the village.

After reaching the path Yuya walked with her head slightly bowed as she prepared her mind for what she was about to do. The only problem was that she wasn't having much luck. The only thing she could think about was that Kyo hadn't come for her.

She knew it was stupid to think that just because he hadn't come he felt nothing for her. _It's not as if I told him that I would be out here, and if he didn't come then I knew that he didn't care. It's just that he usually gets irritated when I'm not around to buy him sake, so I thought if nothing else then that should have at least got him up and looking for me_. She thought, but was suddenly brought out of her train of thoughts by a deep low voice from behind her.

"Did you have fun up in that tree woman?"

* * *

**Author's Note # 2****: The clothing that Yuya is wearing in the beginning of the chapter is the one from the cover of volume 18 that was released in the US. The other clothing is just something I made up. I hope you like this start. Please review and let me know.**


	2. Fiery Touch and a Slow Death

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Samurai Deeper Kyo or any of his characters, and have no right to it except as a fan.**

**Author's note****: It has been brought to my attention that Kyo and Yuya are a little out of character, so I feel I should address that issue. First off, I never said that they would be perfect replicas of the Kyo and Yuya will all love and adore, but I did say in the author's note in the first chapter that they would be a little out of character. Maybe that just shows that people skip over those notes and go straight to the story. **_**Please read these things people**_**. Author's wouldn't waste their time writing them if they didn't want you all to know something about the story before you started reading them. Second, since people seem to have issues with that I feel like I should warn you all now that there will be more OOCness with my characters….Yuya in particular, so be aware of that. **

**Now that that's taken care of I just want to say that I like this chapter, but I'm not exactly happy with it either. I feel that I could have done better, but I wanted to get it up before I ran out of time to do so.**

* * *

**Dangerous Possession**

_Chapter Two: Fiery Touch and a Slow Death_

Yuya froze mid-step then lifted her head and turned her body slightly to the right, and looked back to see Kyo standing there leaning against a tree looking at her. She closed her eyes. She was so happy to see him and almost let herself believe that he had come for her, but then she realized that he could have just been walking and had sensed her there.

_He's probably just curious about why I'm walking around out here or possibly angry that I wasn't around to buy his sake_. She thought with a sigh, as her mood went from momentary happiness to sadness, then opened her eyes and looked to him.

"What does it matter?" she asked somberly as her bruised ribs throbbed and sent pain shooting up and down her side.

Kyo's eyes narrowed at her words. It was like a frown for someone like him. Someone who didn't express emotions on his face so easily. He knew something was wrong with her. He just didn't know what it was. She had left the inn the day before and he had wondered what she had been thinking to make her look the way she did. He had even wondered if she knew that she looked so sad, that with every step she took she seemed to look sadder.

**~ Flashback~**

Kyo watched as the woman walked across the room. Of course to everyone else it looked like he wasn't paying the slightest attention to her or anyone else for that matter.

_Where is she going looking like that?_ he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and tried to block out Akari and Okuni. He wanted to try and follow her…track her chi for as long as his senses would allow. He tracked her out of the inn, down the road, and a little way into the woods beyond the village until she was out of his range. He opened his eyes, irritated that he didn't know where she was going and highly aware that she was hurt. He didn't want anything else to happen to her, but he wasn't going to admit that to anyone- including himself.

He thought about getting up and going after her but dismissed the thought immediately, not wanting to have to deal with getting Akari and Okuni to leave him alone. They would ask too many questions if they didn't just guess what he was up to, so he tightened his grip on his sword, closed his eyes, and ignored everyone.

However, just because he was ignoring everyone it didn't mean that he wasn't aware of what everyone did. When they moved, how they moved, what they said, how they said it, the rhythm of their breathing and more. He was aware of it all, so he knew the moment Sasuke stood, stepped out into the side garden, and took off- practically disappearing to normal eyes.

_He's going after the woman. Probably the only one besides myself that noticed something was wrong with her. He did talk to her after all. We both noticed, the moment she stepped into the room, that something was wrong._ he thought, the sound of Akari babbling on about some nonsense providing background noise to his musings.

A short while later he noticed Yukimura get up and walk out, and thought that he must be curious about what Sasuke was doing. A little while after he left Yukimura came back with sake in hand and moved to sit next to Kyo since Okuni had so graciously moved a short distance away, knowing that the sake was for him.

"Here, I brought sake. Drink up!" Yukimura said happily, that maddening smile in place as always.

Kyo wasted no time. He grabbed one of the small jugs and took a long drink from it, not wanting to deal with a cup. He was itching to go find the woman and find out what her problem was. The more he thought about it the more he realized he didn't like to see her sad.

"I went to go find out what Sasuke was up to and you know what I found? I found him at the edge of the village staring off into the trees." Yukimura informed Kyo with a quiet chuckle. Kyo just kept taking drinks from the jug, seemingly not paying attention to Yukimura, but was really hanging on his every word knowing that it had to do with the woman since he wouldn't have even mentioned it. "I asked him what he was looking at and he directed me to one tree in particular. It was a rather tall thick tree, and as I looked at it I saw some color at the top. I was very surprised to see our little Yuya up there. I didn't know she could climb trees like that." he continued, shaking his head slowly in wonder, then took a drink of his own sake.

"Sasuke explained how she had climbed the tree, and I have to admit that she's a really good climber, especially with her injury. Anyway, Sasuke was worried that something was bothering her since she looked so sad and was so quiet." he said before getting to his feet and stretching. "Oh. He also noticed that there was a sparkly light on her face." he added before walking over to join Bontenmaru.

Kyo sat there drinking from the small jug, taking deep swallows, more irritated then he was before. _What the hell is she thinking climbing trees in her condition?! And why is she crying? That's the only explanation for the sparkly light Sasuke saw. Why is she so sad?? She wasn't sad when I put her to sleep yesterday, and she didn't have trouble sleeping during the night._ he thought as he felt Okuni move closer, back to her spot next to him.

He had waited until Yuya was asleep before he went back into their room for the night. He hadn't wanted to be the reason she couldn't get to sleep. He had kept an eye on her…or rather his senses on her from the moment she woke up that evening, and had tracked her as she left the room, explored the inn, took a bath and headed back to the room. He had sat up watching her all night to make sure she was breathing okay and wasn't having trouble sleeping, but had left before she woke so she wouldn't know that he had been watching over her all night. He could have faked it…pretended to be asleep, but hadn't felt like it so he went to the common room to wait for her and everyone else.

Kyo was irritated. Irritated and worried by the woman's behavior. He wouldn't admit to anyone that he was worried. Demon Eyes Kyo did not worry. Demons had nothing to worry about, but he admitted to himself that one golden haired green eyed woman had the power to make this demon worry.

When it began to get dark out Kyo noticed Yukimura leave, and he got to his feet, pushing Akari off him, and followed him out- using that as his own excuse for why he was leaving.

Once outside the inn Kyo could sense the woman again and he followed her chi, ignoring both Yukimura and Sasuke as he passed by them and headed into the forest. He could see her exactly where Yukimura had said she was. He noticed how sad and tired she looked as he made sure to move around so she wouldn't see him, and sat down at the base of a tree that gave him a perfect view of her without giving away his position.

_Why is she up there?_ he wondered after admiring the fact that she was able to get up there at all. _And how long is she going to stay?_ he asked himself.

As the hours passed Kyo's last question was slowly answered.

He watched her all night as she cried and kept herself awake. He was constantly reminded of the fact that he didn't like to see her sad, and the peaceful silence of the forest helped him figure out that her crying meant that she was in some kind of pain. He didn't like the combination and was irritated, yet curious at how it made him feel. It made him feel like…like he was in pain, only it was on the inside instead of just being a flesh wound. His chest ached and he shied away from considering too closely where exactly that 'ache' was centered.

When morning came Kyo watched her closer, not wanting to be caught off guard if she fell out of the tree. She had stopped crying hours before but when she looked down to the ground she began to cry again, and he found himself wondering anew what was making her feel that way…what the cause was. He then watched her jump to the ground and land surprisingly lightly, but he could tell from the way she stayed in her crouch that the landing had hurt her. When she finally began to walk he knew that she was heading back to the village, and moved quickly through the trees so that he could wait for her.

**~End Flashback~**

So here he stood looking into the woman's sad eyes. She always had a spirited comeback for his annoying questions, and he didn't like that she didn't have one now. And he definitely didn't like the sound of her voice either. He wanted some answers, and he was going to get them.

"Come with me." he said and turned to his right and began to walk further into the trees, away from the main path.

Yuya looked after Kyo as he walked into the trees. She wondered if it was a good idea to follow him with the way she was feeling, but she was still as curious as ever- especially when it concerned him and began to walk after him.

_Where is he leading me? Why is he leading me there? What does he want?_ The questions came one after the other as they walked further and further into the woods. _Maybe I shouldn't leave it like this. I…I should make sure before I leave shouldn't I? It's like I said before- he didn't know I was out here waiting for him to come to me._ she thought with a weary sigh as they reached a small yet wide enclosure.

She wondered briefly, as she watched Kyo sit on the ground and lean against a tree, how they always seemed to find these secluded spots. _I should ask him._ she thought as she stood next to a tree across the wide space from Kyo, her mind having gone back to whether or not she should find out how he felt about her before she up and left. _It will be humiliating if he doesn't like me._ her thoughts continued. _Just ask him._ the voice in the back of her mind said. _That's probably why I sat out here all night._ She thought, as if she hadn't heard that voice. _Do it!_ The voice shouted, and she looked off into the distance to her right.

"Kyo?…Do you like me?" she asked quietly, still not looking at him.

Kyo was just about to say something that would surely bring on an angry response when her question, as quietly as it was spoken, rang through the air. He looked over at her, wondering where that question had came from so suddenly as he watched her looking off into the distance as if she were afraid to look at him. Which was very telling since his woman wasn't afraid of him.

He closed his eyes, trying to figure out why she would ask him such a question, when it suddenly came to him. He realized that that was possibly the reason why she had spent almost a whole day and night in a tree crying. That it might be the reason behind her sadness and pain. It was a far cry from the embarrassed denial that he had thought, just the previous evening, that she might be feeling.

_She wants to know how I feel about her. How I __really__ feel. She's probably or most likely been crying because she thinks I don't like her. At least not the way she likes me, and judging by how much she cried last night she must like me a lot._ he thought as he felt the spot where he thought his 'ache' might be centered, start to warm at the thought of how much the woman liked him.

Yuya felt like she had been standing there for hours waiting for Kyo's answer. She had no idea how much time had passed but she was getting uncomfortable.

"Maybe I should ask how much you like me." she said hesitantly, looking down at the ground as she moved in front of the tree. "Never mind." she whispered tiredly, hoping that it would hide her embarrassment. _He must not like me that way. That's why he's taking so long to answer. Maybe he wasn't going to answer at all._ she thought sadly as she closed her eyes and began to slide down the tree. She was hurting too much to keep standing.

Kyo listened to what the woman said and opened his eyes. He wasn't the type to actually say what he was feeling, …but he could show her. She had just given him the perfect opportunity to do something he had wanted to do for a very long time. So he got to his feet, slid his sword into his belt, and moved toward his woman.

Yuya suddenly felt herself being stopped in her slide down the tree by two warm hands- one on each side of her waist. She pushed herself back up the small length she had slid, opened her eyes, and looked up to Kyo. Her breathing immediately began to speed up as she looked into his blood red eyes, causing her throbbing ribs to ache with the effort of her lungs. She couldn't help it though. He had never been close to her like he was at that moment.

_What is he thinking? Why is he doing this? Why…_ her thoughts were cut short when she felt Kyo's left hand on the side of her neck. His figures were splayed around the back of her neck and his thumb was just under her ear.

Yuya was locked in his eyes, unable to look away or even blink as she felt the heat from his hand. Just like before- the longer he held her gaze the warmer his hand got.

Finally he blinked and she was able to close her eyes, but she suddenly felt something soft against her lips. She stiffened and tensed up as she opened her eyes to see Kyo's eyes up close and personal. Her hands moved from her sides to his chest where they fisted his kimono as she felt panic and fear rising in her body and mind.

Kyo was kissing her! She had been wanting him to do that for so long, but she hadn't realized that she would be afraid when it happened. And it was all thanks to Shinrei. He had taken her first kiss and implanted this fear in the process.

When Kyo pressed his lips to Yuya's he felt her entire body react negatively. A first for him, but he knew it would happen. The moment Shinrei forced his deadly kiss on her he knew that he would have to deal with her fear even if she didn't. He could sense her fear and even if he couldn't, he could see it clearly in her wide green eyes and feel it in the grip she had on his kimono. But he was going to be patient and help her through it. He had to because if he couldn't she would never know how he really felt about her.

Yuya's thoughts were barely coherent as fear gripped her. A whimper escaped her. Not one of pleasure, but of panic and fear. Her bright green eyes teared up and she began to push at his chest. Kyo was finally kissing her but she was so afraid and she hated herself for it. _Kiss equals pain. Kiss equals death._ That was the frightened thought running through her mind, but she needed to stop it somehow.

She was still looking into Kyo's eyes and she forced herself to focus on them so she could try to think clearly. _This is Kyo Yuya! He's not going to hurt you. Focus on him._ She told herself. _His lips are soft and warm. Not hard and cold like Shinrei's. They're also very gentle. Not forceful like Shinrei._ she thought as she began to close her eyes.

Kyo could feel her grip on his kimono loosen, the pressure against his chest fade, and he felt her body began to relax as he watched her close her eyes. She was ready. It was time for the next stage. He let his tongue slip between his teeth and lips to slowly slide against the crease between her lips.

Yuya's eyes snapped open as her body stiffened again at the feel of something soft, warm, and slightly wet against her lips. Her chant came back instantly. _Kiss equals pain. Kiss equals death._ The chant repeated through her mind over and over again as she remembered her experience with Shinrei. Him forcing her lips open with his ice cold tongue, something slimy and **very** much alive wiggling in her mouth and crawling down her throat.

She again forced herself to focus on Kyo's blood red eyes and reason with herself. She felt the thumb he had on her neck, under her ear, begin to slowly rub back and forth. The soothing sensation helped her focus.

_It's just his tongue Yuya. Don't panic._ she thought as she focused on the feel of it. It wasn't cold and forceful like Shinrei's, but warm and gentle. It felt as if he was asking permission to enter instead of being demanding and harsh like Shinrei. The thought helped her relax her tense muscles a little and hesitantly open her mouth a little, trusting that Kyo wouldn't hurt her.

Kyo didn't hesitate when he felt Yuya opened her mouth. It wasn't opened much but he would take what he could get. He slipped his tongue slowly between her lips and teeth and began to explore her mouth, hoping that she would get use to the feel of it. He waited patiently until she closed her eyes and relaxed completely before he closed his own eyes and began to enjoy the kiss.

If called on to describe the sensation of his lips moving with Yuya's, not that he would actually describe it to anyone- being as private as he is, he wasn't sure he could. But he would try in case he felt the need to tell the woman if she asked. Her lips were so soft, so warm. He could feel the shyness and innocence in the way she returned his kiss. The way she smelt was a balm to his sensitive senses. She was a breath of fresh air, so clean and pure. The way she felt beneath his rough calloused hands made his heart beat just a little bit faster. Her skin was so soft and smooth, and although he wasn't moving his hands much he knew that she had curves that he would take pleasure in getting lost in.

He felt her hands moving along his chest in a clear gesture that she was enjoying the kiss now. He could feel her right arm slide under his left arm and wrap around his back, while her left hand slid over his shoulder and tangled in his hair. He wanted so badly to press his body against hers and give in to his desires to find out exactly how much she liked him, but he forced himself to resist. In time he would claim her but for now this time was for her and her needs.

Kyo used the kiss to distract Yuya from her pain. He made sure she was good and distracted by his skilled tongue so that she wouldn't feel what he was about to do. He knew that it would hurt her later but it would help her in the long run.

He moved his right hand from where it rested on her waist up to her bruised ribs and began to give them a deep message that would only add to what she was feeling from the kiss. After a few moments he slipped his hand inside her yukata and under kimono, grazing her breast in the process and having to force himself to move on and not linger, and began to message her bruised ribs again- this time using the heat of his hand. He knew that what he was doing would help her ache go away sooner, but it was also an excuse to touch her soft skin.

Yuya felt like she was in a dream. Kyo, Demon Eyes Kyo, killer of a thousand and then some, was kissing her and she was finally able to enjoy it. She couldn't believe that such a dangerous man with so much blood on his hands had such soft and gentle lips. It should be a sin to have lips like his. And the way he was kissing her! He was being so gentle and careful with her. It surprised her that Kyo, a man she **knew** had experience- there was no way a man as sexy as Kyo had gone this long without gaining experience, was behaving in such a tame manner with her. It was all too much. She could barely think, but when she felt Kyo's hand moving against her side and the flash of heat that suddenly settled on her skin, her thought process shut down all together.

After a while Kyo removed his hand from beneath her inner kimono and rested it on her hip before adding pressure to the kiss. He then broke the connection and slid his lips across her cheek and back toward her left ear, bathing her skin with his hot breath.

"I'm sure that's proof that I like you, and even more of how **much** I like you." he whispered huskily in her ear as he tightened his grip on her neck. With a quick nip to her earlobe Kyo released her, easily breaking the hold she had on him, and began to walk away, heading back toward the village.

Yuya was lost. Lost to Kyo and his fiery touch. As she enjoyed the soft silkiness of his long hair, the velvet of his tongue, and breathed in his singular scent- she wanted more. She wanted to feel his hot skin against hers, feel his fiery hands moving over her, she wanted him!

Just as she was about to move her right leg to wrap around his leg, she felt him break the kiss. Still in a daze from Kyo's kiss she wondered why he had stopped or at least tried to wonder since her thought process was trying to restart itself. However, her minds efforts paused as she heard Kyo's deep voice in her ear and felt the heat of his breath.

She tried to understand what he was saying. She really did, but the feel of his heated fingers tightening against her neck made it impossible, and the next thing she knew she was holding air and watching him walk away from her like nothing had happened.

* * *

Zazuki hurried along the back paths behind the inns as he made his way to the inn his boss was currently residing at before he headed onward to his home. He didn't want to be seen going to a rival inn, not to mention his boss would be upset if they were linked in any way.

Once he arrived he walked inside through the back door, greeted a girl carrying an armful of linens with a wink and a smile, and discretely made his way to his boss' suite. After ensuring his body guards that he had not been seen and finally been granted an audience, he began to describe in detail the beautiful girl that he had seen traveling with the legendary Demon Eyes Kyo.

"I'm telling you boss. You could tell, just by the way he stood, that she was his. That she could possibly be precious to him." he began with an excited glint in his eyes.

**~Flashback~**

Zazuki watched her as she walked alone down the main road. She seemed lost in thought but that wasn't what he was concerned with. He was more interested in her figure and her pretty…no, beautiful face. He memorized her rich sun-kissed golden hair, her bright wide green eyes, the way her yellow and orange striped yukata mixed well with her hair and skin, and the way it fit on her body and emphasized her breasts and curves.

He carefully followed her to the edge of the village then paused, unsure if he wanted to risk being seen following her. He glanced around trying to decide whether or not to follow after her, only to see Demon Eyes Kyo doing just that.

That decided him right then and there. He stealthily moved away, slowly so as not to draw attention to himself, and went to gain an audience with his boss to inform him of this development for he knew that his boss detested the red eyed demon.

**~End Flashback~**

"Hmmm….this is turning out to be my lucky day." Zazuki's boss said with a low malicious chuckle. "I want you to find out all you can about that girl. I want her name, age, what kind of personality she has, what inn she's staying at, what room she's in, and if she considers herself as belonging to the demon since you say that people can tell that he has chosen her to be his." he ordered. "I want you to report back to me as soon as possible, although that should go without saying. I want to start planning as soon as possible." he added in a dismissive manner, the beginnings of a plan already taking root in his mind.

"As you wish." Zazuki said with a bow before leaving, discreetly exiting the inn and making his way home, back to the inn he owned. As he walked he decided to send someone after Kyo and the girl. As luck would have it he came across the perfect person and signaled the man to follow him into an alley between two inns. He was a shady somewhat heavy set wannabe gangster named Shindo.

He immediately began to explain to Shindo that he wanted him to go out into the woods and mess with the golden hair girl. He informed him that the man was Demon Eyes Kyo. Zazuki knew that Shindo was practically brainless and probably wouldn't realize who he was dealing with even after seeing the red eyes and hair. Even if he informed him that he was most likely going to be confronted with the legendary Demon Eyes Kyo he knew that Shindo would still do it, because the man thought Zazuki was the key to getting in the good graces of his boss. That would never happen but Shindo didn't need to know that.

After Zazuki gave Shindo all the information he needed he sent him off, but followed him at a distance. He needed to see how Demon Eyes Kyo and the girl acted toward each other, and he couldn't rely on Shindo because there was a very real chance that he wouldn't be exiting the forest.

Zazuki nearly had a heart attack when he saw the demon's red eyes snap up in his direction. He froze in place as he stood peeking from behind a tree, too afraid to move for fear he might draw attention to himself. When Demon Eyes Kyo looked away and began to walk in the opposite direction Zazuki breathed a relieved sigh before looking to Shindo.

_Look at that. He didn't even pause as the demon looked his way. He must be stupider then I thought._ Zazuki thought as Shindo continued on toward the girl. He moved closer as well and used a large bush to hide behind while peeking through the leaves. _Perfect view._ he thought, knowing it was the best one he was going to get. He just hoped he didn't get caught…or killed.

He took in the sight of Shindo with the girl and wondered what she was doing. Shindo was standing there blabbing away and she wasn't moving. Maybe she was choosing to ignore him. In any case he watched the rest of the events unfold, paying particular attention to how Demon Eyes Kyo treated the girl now that she was hurt.

He didn't give Shindo's death a second thought as he watched the demon pick up the girl. He thought the wannabe gangster was lucky that his death was quick. It had been so quick that Zazuki hadn't even seen it in time to flinch, and he thought it was incredible that the precision of the attack was so precise that the girl hadn't been in danger of being harmed.

Zazuki waited a little while after the couple left before making his way back to the village. He reviewed the events in his mind over and over again making sure that he wouldn't forget a single detail. _I wish I could see what they're doing right now._ he thought as he began to wonder how he was going to get all the information he needed on the girl.

As he entered the village and began to head toward his inn he saw a trio of men, that he recognized, enter a brothel inn. They were the same men who were traveling with Demon Eyes Kyo and the girl. One was very tall and bulky with an eye patch over his right eye with shoulder length hair, another one of them he noticed was about as tall as he was and wearing a red and white striped bandana with narrow squinty eyes, and the last of them was close to the second in height with a cheerful friendly face and a slight feminine appearance as if he cared about the way he looked and about how others saw him.

He followed them in and casually looked around to see which girls they chose to spend the evening with. They were all beautiful girls and to his delight he knew one of them. She was a petite yet voluptuous woman with thick black hair that extended to her knees and a youthful face that housed a pair of dark brown eyes that clearly expressed her experience. He nonchalantly got her attention and signaled for her to come to him as quickly as she could, knowing that she would understand that he needed to speak to her before she settled down with the man of her choice.

This was a very fortunate situation in Zazuki's opinion. He was glad that she had not been otherwise engaged already when the three men entered the establishment, because she was the perfect person to help him get the information he needed. She had the uncanny ability to get people to tell her private and secret information without them even knowing it. She had even got him to give up information a few times.

"Zazuki." a soft sultry voice called his name and he looked to see the woman currently occupying his thoughts walking toward him in a snug white kimono adorned with red flowers.

"Ayami." her name rolled off his tongue as a small smile lifted his lips. "So, Zazuki. What is it you need? I am assuming you need something from me since you can clearly see that I am working." she said, her voice losing the sultry tone yet remaining soft. "And do hurry. I don't want him to wonder what's taking me so long and decide to replace me." she added.

"I have a favor to ask." he said and watched as she raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise but continued to listen. "I want you to find out everything you can about the young girl traveling with those men you just approached. _Nothing_ is insignificant. If you can't do it by yourself, get your friends to help you. When your done 'working' come find me at my inn." he said and watched as she frowned a little. "I don't suppose you know which one has the most information do you?" she asked. "Sorry. Maybe you ladies can get them talking at the same time and find out who knows more that way." he suggested. "Good luck. I'm counting on you." he added with a smile he reserved for when they spent the night together when he was her client before leaving.

**.:xXxXx:.**

As night fell Ayami came to Zazuki and informed him that the young girls name was Yuya Shina, that she was a bounty hunter traveling with them, and was obviously half in love if not completely in love with Kyo. She also informed him that the two shared a room because Kyo was very protective of her and would likely kill any man that looked at her too long.

"Hmmm…interesting. Thanks Ayami. I owe you." he said, grateful that he had enough information to present to his boss. "Here's something for your trouble." he said as he handed her a small pouch full of money. "You know where to find me if you need me again." she said as she slipped the small pouch inside the folds of her kimono and stepped toward the side door she had entered through. "I'm free now if you'd like." she added in a sultry tone as she paused at the door. "Tempting. **Very** tempting, but I can't. I needed that information for a reason after all." he explained and watched as she delicately shrugged her shoulders, slid the door open, and left.

**.:xXxXx:.**

Zazuki wasted no time getting to his boss after he was sure Ayami was long gone. He took a different route from the one he used last time but entered the inn in the same manner. Once he was in front of his boss he told him everything he had found out about Demon Eyes Kyo and the girl. From what he saw him do to Shindo, to how he treated the girl after, all the way to the information Ayami had supplied him.

"I want that girl. This Yuya girl, and I want you to bring her to me as soon as possible." his boss told him, thinking of the plan he had been cooking up. "Here. Take this." he said as he picked up a small vile full of clear liquid and handed it to Zazuki.

"What is it?" Zazuki asked as he held it between his forefinger and thumb, watching the liquid swish around. It looked like water to him. _Perhaps it's a special type of sake I can use on the girl._ he considered, and listened as his boss explained what it was.

"Use it as a **last** resort." he ordered. "And don't worry. Even when it's dry it'll work once it enters a wound." he assured him and waved a hand, dismissing him from his presence.

Zazuki nodded his head and got to his feet, knowing when he was being dismissed. He headed back to his inn, made sure everything was running smoothly then closed up for the night. He then went to his room, stored the vile safely away, and settled down for the night.

_How am I going to get that girl without Demon Eyes finding out or finding out too quick?_ he wondered as he lay on his futon trying to fall asleep. _I wonder if I'll be able to get her without all those guys knowing. They all have weapons but I guess I can use the girl as a shield if I have to._ he thought before falling asleep.

**.:xXx:.**

The next morning Zazuki woke up with a plan. He readied himself for a day of work and began to take care of the usual business involved in running an inn. When he finally finished enough to allow himself a break he went in search of the young man he vaguely remembered seeing. He was a teenage boy who looked like he was working at the Cherry Blossom Inn, and if Zazuki was right…he was going to try and use the boy to get the information he needed to try and get his hands on the girl. He was going to have to be careful though. He couldn't allow himself to be seen near the inn because for one- it was bad for business being an inn owner and all and two- he didn't want anyone in the demon's little group to become familiar with his face. That would definitely make it hard to get to the girl, and should he pull it off without incident they wouldn't know to come looking for him.

He found the teenager working, sweeping the ground in front of the inns entrance. Most of his hair was pulled back in a high pony tail while his bangs fell into his eyes, and his clothes looked worn with patches here and there to cover up old holes. The kid was obviously not well off and most likely in need of whatever money he could get his hands on.

Perfect for Zazuki's needs.

He watched and waited until the teen finished his sweeping and disappeared inside for a short while before coming back out, walking away from the inn. He approached the teen and smoothly and nonchalantly bribed him, dangling the offer of a nice sum of money for the location of the room Demon Eyes Kyo was staying in.

The teen was understandably **more** then hesitant. Surprise, shock, and fear flashed across his face. Giving out that information was dangerous, even more so if it was ever learned that he had let that information slip. The man knew what he looked like! He had passed by the red head with his red eyes a number of times, and every single time he did he was nervous and afraid. Did everyone see the quiet confidence on his face? The energy swirling in those red eyes? Did they feel the waves of aggression rolling off him? And if they did, did they get the sense that those waves could easily become a tsunami?

He did and it took all his energy to walk pass the man without cringing away in fear. And he just knew that the man could tell that he was afraid. If he gave up this information would the man be able to tell he was guilty too? He didn't know but he had to take the chance. He needed the money…his **family** needed the money, so he began to quietly explain exactly where the room was from the inside and the outside.

The teen sighed lightly as he took the money with thanks. He had been a little concerned that this man wouldn't hand over the money after he gave the information, but it seemed his concerns were pointless. As he began to walk away the man followed him and asked if he could tell him one more thing about the red head. He said he would give him more money but only after he got the information.

The teen sighed once again, this time a tired sigh. He would get more money but would it put him in even more danger then just looking guilty when he was near the dangerous man? Would he have to quit his job and find a new one since he didn't know how long the dangerous red head would be staying? Did it matter?? He was sure that if the man wanted him dead then getting a job at another location wasn't going to help him.

"How much will I be getting?" the teen asked as he stopped walking to look at the man. "Enough to make the risk more then worthwhile kid." Zazuki answered quietly. He was aware of the danger and that the kid was only considering doing it because he needed the money. He wouldn't cheat the kid. Now it would be a different story altogether if he was dealing with a grown man. "O…okay. What do you want?" the teen asked. "I want you to let me know when he leaves the girl alone for a sure length of time. I want to make sure he won't come back right away." Zazuki said and watched as the teen nodded his head.

Zazuki gave the name of his inn and explained where it was located and told the kid that it didn't matter what he was doing or how late it was, that he wanted that information the moment he was sure.

**.:xXxXx:.**

It was late when Zazuki left to try and kidnap the Yuya girl. The teen had come to him right when he had finished closing up his inn and reported that Demon Eyes had left with two men and had been gone ten minutes. One of the men was huge with an eye patch and the other was skinny, his hair hanging over one side of his face with a smile. Zazuki remembered those two guys from the brothel the day before, and wondered if they were going there again. But would the demon really do that to the girl? Perhaps she didn't know.

He saw that most of the lights in the rooms were out, but more importantly the light was out in the room that the demon was sharing with the girl. It was perfect. He had thought he was going to have a problem when he saw that their room shared a little garden with the rooms on either side, but the lights were off in both of those rooms and all was quiet. Either the rooms were empty or the occupants were asleep.

Zazuki climbed over the wall that was barely taller then he was, dropped onto the soft grass, and moved to slide the door leading to the room open. He saw no one else in the room with the sleeping girl with the golden hair, so he slowly approached her on silent feet.

* * *

Yuya was on cloud nine. She was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling now that she was in the privacy of the room she shared with Kyo as she readied her futon for bed.

Kyo liked her. He really really liked her. She wished she could get inside his head. _I wonder how long he's liked me._ she wondered. Yes he had saved her life repeatedly. He had to like her enough to do that, but when had his feelings changed from 'I like her enough to keep her alive' to 'I like her enough to kiss her'?

He had wanted to kiss her, but was there more? Did he want an inexperienced girl like her? The way a man wants a woman? She couldn't deny that she wanted him. The thought made her blush. She was in love with Demon Eyes Kyo and wanted him. She wanted him to claim her body!

That thought made her remember their kiss that morning and the events that followed.

**~Flashback~**

Yuya followed after Kyo, trying to work through her daze as she stared at his back- following the sway of his hair in the breeze.

A breeze. She suddenly felt a chill against the skin on her left side and chest. She looked down and gasped, an intense blush heating her face as she took in the disheveled state of her yukata. It was practically gaping open! As she straightened her clothing, she began to slip from her pleasant daze and become aware of the intense throbbing in her side. The pain was intense. So intense that her bruised ribs had a heartbeat of their own, and they seemed to have no scruples about pounding away- increasing her discomfort.

When she was done making herself presentable she placed a hand lightly over the injured area and jogged to catch up with Kyo. After reaching him she slowed to walk a few steps behind him. As she gazed at his back his whispered words suddenly came back to her, allowing her mind to finally process their meaning.

"_I'm sure that's proof that I like you, and even more of how __**much**__ I like you."_ Those were Kyo's words. He had told her plain and simple that he liked her. Much less simple was deciphering how **much** he liked her. He made it sound like he liked her a great deal, but she was still going to wonder how much until she knew for sure.

As Yuya looked at his long red hair and tall figure, her mind whispered the one question that she wasn't sure she would ever voice aloud: _Does he love me?_ Kyo had shown her that he liked her and in the process had given her hope and a reason to stay. Her hope was that he loved her and her reason to stay was the hope that that hope would turn out to be reality…and maybe more. It would be nice to know that he loved her, but even better if he was in love with her.

Once they reached the inn Kyo lead the way to their rented common room where she ate some food for the first time since early the day before. As she ate she sat near Kyo but not as close as Akari and Okuni were want to.

Bontenmaru and Benitora tried to ask her where she had been all this time and probably would have asked more but they cut themselves off with a mumbled 'never mind'. She didn't look but she guessed that Kyo had given them that look. The one that said 'say one more word and you'll never say anything again'. She didn't approve of the violence but it was apart of his nature and she accepted it. Probably loved him more for it, and at that moment was grateful for it. She had no wish to explain where she had gone and what she had been doing and thinking. They didn't need to know that she had been so very close to leaving their group, and they definitely didn't need to know that she had been kissing Kyo.

**~End Flashback~**

Yuya had spent the rest of the day chatting with everyone, laughing at jokes and funny antics, and trying not to show how much pain her laughter was causing her. But every now and then she would push her pain aside and peek over at Kyo. The sight of him reminded her instantly of the delicious kiss they had shared, which drew her eyes to his soft lips. And every time they landed on those soft lips she would quickly look away as she struggled to keep her blush away.

However, even with Kyo's lips as a pleasant distraction her pain was just too much for her and she headed to bed early, taking a bath for as long as she could stand the heated water against her aching side.

Now here she was, slipping under her cover and holding her breath as she slowly laid down. Yuya sighed as she lay on her back and began to relax.

_I wonder if Kyo will join me tonight._ she wondered and blushed at her own thought. _I…I mean if he'll be sleeping in the room with me._ she corrected herself quickly but at the same time wondered why she needed to make that distinction clear. _I just really want to see him before I fall asleep._ she thought with a tired sigh.

Unfortunately, Kyo hadn't shown up before she drifted off to sleep.

**.:xXxXx:.**

Yuya whimpered softly as she was slowly pulled from a deep sleep by a cold shiver. _Why? Why??_ she whined, wondering why her cold arms and legs had to drag her from such a great dream. She couldn't remember what she was dreaming exactly, but she knew that Kyo had made an appearance.

She shifted slightly, trying to get back the warmth that would help her return to dreamland, but she couldn't find her cover. In fact, it felt like she was being carried high in someone's arms.

Was it Kyo? Was Kyo holding her…carrying her?

The arms pulled her closer…_to what?_ She didn't know, but they paused as she shifted again. She didn't understand. Kyo wasn't the hesitant type, so why all the pausing? There was a hand on the outside of her right thigh. It felt large, slightly rough, and a little cold.

_Not Kyo!_ Her sleepy mind stated in alarm and she froze, feeling as if her heart had skipped a beat at the revelation.

Kyo's hands were rough and full of calluses, and his hands were **never** cold. It could be snowing out and his hands would remain toasty and warm.

Those thoughts helped Yuya snap out of her sleepy state enough to open her eyes as she began to struggle to be free of the hands and arms that were not Kyo's. The pain in her side helped to wake her up as she was greeted with the slightly blurry sight of a man who looked to be in his late 20's early 30's, with slight salt but more pepper hair pulled back into a lose ponytail.

"Put me down! Put me down!! Put me down!!!" she yelled as she struggled harder to be free. Her struggling succeeded in causing him to drop her to her feet, but he held on to her arms as he began to pull and practically drag her back toward the door he had apparently come through.

The man managed to get her out into the small garden behind her room before she seriously started to panic and wonder where he was trying to take her in the middle of the night. She needed to get away from him but she didn't have her gun or her kodachi. She needed help, and of course only one name came to mind as she took a deep breath.

"KY…" she began to scream for the one man who was always saving her, but was cut off by her capture slapping his hand over her mouth and brandishing a knife in front of her face.

"This knife is covered in a poison that will keep any wound it makes from healing. So if I stabbed you right now even if the wound itself didn't kill you, you would eventually bleed to death." she heard him whisper harshly in her ear before very welcome, on her part, company showed up.

Hotaru and Akira came rushing out of the room to the right of hers, Akari and Benitora came rushing up to the doorway through her room, and Sasuke came out of the room to the left of hers.

"What are you doing with her?" Benitora demanded angrily as he stepped forward with his spear in hand. "Let Yuya go!" Akari demanded right after Benitora as she too stepped forward.

Yuya watched as Akira pulled out his twin swords and Hotaru pull out his sword and began to step toward her and the man holding her. _How come they hadn't come sooner? Like when I was yelling for him to put me down._ she thought, not that she was complaining or anything. _The walls couldn't be sound proof…could they?_ she wondered, and nearly rolled her eyes. Now was definitely not the time for such thoughts.

"Uh-uh." her capture said as he brought the knife up to Yuya's neck. She held her breath, not wanting the knife to cut her throat. "Don't want anything to happen to her now would we." he added and Yuya could just hear the smirk in his voice as she felt the temperature in the air warring between Akira's chill and Hotaru's heat.

"What do you want?" She heard Sasuke ask and looked, from the corner of her eye, to see his cat like eyes glaring.

"Why this beautiful girl of course." he answered. "I'm under orders to bring her to my boss. I suspect he's got plans to lure the demon to him using her." he added. "Of course even if I can't get you to him all I need to do is wound you. That'll get the demon to him…since he's the only one with the antidote." he whispered in her ear and she frowned.

Yuya was irritated and angry. At the man **and** herself. She was irritated at the man because he was trying…or his 'boss' was trying to use her to get to Kyo, and at herself because she wasn't strong enough to stop it from happening. She was a weakness to Kyo and she always would be, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to stop this guy.

She lifted her right foot and slammed it down on her captures foot, causing him to cry out in pain and move the knife as he favored his better foot. Then she swung her right elbow back as hard as she could, catching him somewhere in his midsection, which caused him to drop his hand from her mouth. She took advantage of her freedom and spun around and hit him in the face with her left fist. In return he thrust the knife, shoving it into the right side of her stomach.

Yuya cried out at the sharp pain and using the intense pain, hit him again with her right fist, knocking him backwards. She used the momentum to spin around so she was facing the way she started, and saw Kyo standing there looking at her with a shocked surprised look.

She looked down, almost slowly, at the hilt of the knife before pulling it out with a pained cry. As she began to collapse she realized that the last time she saw him look that way was when he saw that the circle of stars on her chest, that represented how many hours she had left to live, had been dramatically reduced from seven hours to one hour.

Suddenly she felt herself stop in her collapse and be lifted into the air. She opened her eyes to see Kyo's red eyes looking back at her as he held her in his arms. She thought she saw a trace of sadness swirling around in the redness, but it disappeared so fast that she wasn't sure she had saw it at all. That slight confusion aided in closing her eyes as she tried to breath as little as possible since every breath she took caused her more and more pain.

Kyo watched as tears rolled from the corners of Yuya's eyes as she closed them. She was in pain. His woman was in pain. Tremendous pain judging by her breathing, and it made him furious! He wanted to know why the dead man, because he **would** be dying that night, had come after his woman in the middle of the night, but he needed to take care of her first. He needed to try and ease her pain.

"Akari." he said her name as a quiet order as he moved to bring Yuya inside their room. "Right." Akari said as she backed into the room and went to kneel next to the right side of Yuya's futon so she would be ready.

Kyo carefully laid Yuya down on her futon and removed the knife from the grip she had on it before he began to untie the sash keeping her sleeping kimono closed.

"Out." he ordered Benitora, who had followed them inside. He was not about to let him see her in an undressed state, and he knew better then anyone that she wouldn't want that either.

"What?! But Akari gets to stay." Benitora complained in a half serious half whining tone. He was so worried about Yuya and wanted to be there for her but he also didn't want to get on Kyo's bad side…especially not now with Yuya so badly hurt. Who knew how Kyo would react to this situation.

"Out." Kyo repeated. He didn't like repeating himself and he wouldn't do it again. If he didn't leave then Kyo was going to use his sword to make him leave! It was common sense why Akari wasn't leaving. She had the healing power, and more importantly, she wasn't interested in ogling his woman's body!

"Fine. I'll go take out my worry on that idiot outside." Benitora said as he got to his feet. He just hoped the others hadn't killed him yet.

After he was out of the room Kyo opened up the right side of Yuya's kimono. There was so much blood. It wasn't right. She didn't deserve this. Someone as pure and clean as his woman didn't deserve to be lying here in so much pain while her blood slowly flowed from her body.

"Oh! Too much blood, but it's not as bad as I thought it might be." Akari said as she wiped away the blood so she could see the wound clearly. "I'll be able to heal this right up." she assured Kyo as she picked up her staff and began to draw on her body's aura.

Akari placed her left hand lightly over the wound with a quiet 'sorry' to Yuya as she heard her whimper in pain. Then closed her eyes as she focused on closing and healing the wound. Everything proceeded as always when she was healing a person's wounds, however this time there seemed to be a problem. A very big problem.

Yuya's wound was not healing.

_What's going on here?! Why isn't she healing?_ Akari thought with a frown as she continued to draw on her aura and tried the process again. But still…still it was not working. She wasn't healing. She stopped the flow of her aura, opened her eyes, and looked from Yuya's pained face to Kyo's blank face.

"Kyo…it's not working. I can't heal her." Akari said sadly as she dropped her eyes from Kyo's face. This wasn't suppose to happen. Yuya wasn't suppose to get hurt like this. _This wound…if I can't heal it then Yuya will…Yuya will…_ she opened her eyes and looked to Yuya's face once again. She looked like she was in so much pain. Her breathing was labored and tears rolled from the corners of her eyes. She didn't deserve this. _And Kyo doesn't deserve this!_ her thoughts added as she looked back to the red eyed man. His head was bowed and all she could see was his red hair hanging in front of his face and sliding over his shoulders. He had finally found someone who loved him. Loved him for who and what he was. Some one who trusted him unconditionally, and would follow him to the ends of the earth. He couldn't lose her, and Akari wouldn't let him lose her. He deserved to be happy, and not only that…but she wasn't sure if the world could handle Kyo if Yuya wasn't around anymore.

"But I won't give up. I'll try again." she said as she focused back on Yuya's wound. "Maybe there's something I'm missing." she said as she wiped away the blood that had gathered around the wound again.

"The…" Yuya began but stopped as she struggled to find a rhythm to her breathing that didn't cause her too much pain. "the knife…" she continued, struggling to get the words out as she opened her eyes.

"What?!" Akari said as she looked to the knife that Kyo had took out of Yuya's hand. She picked it up and looked at it. There didn't seem to be anything unusual about it. _I don't understand._ she thought as she looked to Kyo, who was now looking down at Yuya. She looked back to the injured girl as well.

"…is…poisoned." she breathed out and watched for a second time that night as shock crossed Kyo's face.

"Poison!" Akari said in surprise as she looked back to the knife. She carefully brought it up to her nose and smelled it. _Doesn't smell like anything._ she thought as she lowered it and twisted it as she looked at it again. _Doesn't look like there is anything on it…besides Yuya's blood._ she thought as she laid the knife back down. "I can remove poison," Akari said as she looked to Yuya. "but Yuya…it's going to be really really painful." she finished.

"Just…just get it over with." Yuya said as she closed her eyes, and tried to tune out the sounds of her would be capture being beaten up.

"Okay." Akari said slowly. She looked to Kyo and saw his red eyes looking right back at her, clearly showing that he wanted her to proceed if Yuya was willing to go through with it. She nodded her head and looked back to the wound. "I'm going to need you to hold her down Kyo." she said with a tired sigh, knowing and very much hating the fact that she was about to cause Yuya more pain.

Yuya's heart started pounding at Akari's words. She felt Kyo place a warm hand on her chest just above her breasts and the other on top of her thighs. It was insane how at that moment she was able to feel how gentle yet firm he was being with the pressure he was placing on her, because at the same time she was remembering the last time she saw Akari remove a harmful substance from someone's body.

The scene played through her mind very clearly. A beautiful little Santera transformed into an even more beautiful woman butterfly with the aid of a serum. Then the brutal vision of Akari shoving her hand into Santera's chest to remove the personality and body changing substance. She remembered it well. She had thought that Akari was killing the poor girl, especially with how much pain she had sounded like she was in. She couldn't imagine how that would…

Yuya's thought cut off abruptly as her body and mind were plagued with a pain she couldn't describe to save her life! She cried out…screamed her lungs out even though that too caused her pain, and she struggled against the hands holding her down in an attempt to escape what felt like torture. She tried wiggling her legs and thrashing around but the hands holding her down held fast. She brought her arms up and pushed at the warm body leaning over her with her hands but still…nothing. She screamed, she cried, she fisted her hands around the soft silky material of the body's kimono and pulled as she pleaded for it…for the pain to stop…for them to make it stop.

"Reject!" Akari said and squinted her eyes as a bright light engulfed the room before she pulled her hand from the wound. She sighed and looked to her hand, but there was a problem.

The poison didn't come out.

"Damn it!" Akari said in frustration. "I can't heal this wound. I can't remove the poison…even though I can grab it...I just can't remove it." she said in irritation then sighed tiredly. "I can try again." she suggested.

"No!" Yuya breathed out as quickly as she could as she tightened her grip on what she understood now was Kyo's kimono. She didn't want to experience that pain again. "He…he said that it would keep the wound…from healing, and that…that I would eventually bleed to death unless I got the antidote." she explained as she tried to deal with the pain and opened her eyes to look up to Kyo before continuing. "He said his boss is the only one with the antidote." she added quietly.

"Akari!" Again her name came out as an order as he looked over to her, and watched as she grabbed her staff and quickly got to her feet and headed toward the little garden. She had to stop them before they killed the guy. He had to stay alive long enough to give them the information they needed. The information **he** needed.

Kyo felt his kimono go slack and he looked down to see Yuya's arms fall to her sides. Her eyes were once again closed and she was still laboring with her breathing. He moved his hands from her and went to get the medicine box that she had insisted on keeping. He supposed it was a good idea now that they were in serious need of it, but he would never admit to that out loud.

He settled himself down on her right side, taking the spot that Akari had recently vacated and began to clean the woman's wound. He wiped away the blood as gently as he could, then disinfected the area, and covered it with bandages that would last until he could check it again. Once he was done he closed her kimono and retied the sash, forcing away thoughts of how that would look and feel if she wasn't hurt.

"It hurts. It…it really really hurts." Yuya said sadly as she opened her eyes and looked to Kyo.

"I know." he said quietly, a tone of regret slipping into his voice. He hated that she was in pain. Hated that she was hurt at all, and he knew he really had no one to blame but himself.

"Make it go away." he heard her say suddenly, as if the idea had just come to her. "Like…like you did earlier. I didn't feel any pain then." she added.

Kyo blinked in surprise. He remembered that. There was no way he would ever forget that. But she couldn't be serious…could she? As he looked into her pain filled green eyes, shinny from unshed tears, he realized that she was very serious. She really wanted him to kiss her like he had that morning.

Of course now that he knew she was serious, he didn't hesitate one bit.

He leaned over her and brought his lips to hers for the second time. He steadied himself with his left hand and placed his right hand on the left side of her neck as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. He could tell, even after all his efforts that morning and with the pain she was in now, that she was still afraid of his kissing her. But he wasn't sure she realized it at that particular moment since she wasn't resisting him.

Kyo tried and succeeded in putting those thoughts aside. He couldn't make her pain go away unless he was enjoying the kiss, so he focused instead on the feel of her soft skin and warm mouth. The feel of her tongue doing its best to move with his as her body relaxed as best it could under his ministrations. When he was sure that the kiss had distracted her enough so that she wasn't feeling her pain, he moved his right hand from her neck down to her shoulder and pressed firmly on the small pressure point as he slipped his tongue from her mouth.

She instantly became still and unresponsive, so he pulled back from the softness of her lips and placed her blanket over her sleeping body.

He then picked up his sword and turned his attention to the soon to be dead man outside.

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**Author's note 2****: Please check out my profile for updates on the status of this story, and don't forget to review.**


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